shasta17

Your Canadian BSN is valid after passing the CRNE and then the NCLEX. You would then have to get licensure from the Nursing Board in whatever state you will be practising. Plan on working in acute care med/surg initially while exploring critical care certifications. Check with potential employers about what they offer for education as many will fast track and pay for your education as aprt of their recruitment strategy.

I would reccomend consolidating your skills in med/surg for atleast one year prior to entering a specialty. There are numerous certification courses out there and a good one (Canada) is also the Oncology Nursing Distance Education course (ONDEC) available through the Cross Cancer Institute in Alberta. Depending what area of oncology you wish to work in, there are other educational options available to support (chemo administration, pain and symptom management, radiation therapy to name a few).

There are still opportunities in BC and a lot of the health authorities and agencies here have new grad programs. Usually, hiring into "new grad" positions happens in the spring but you can still apply for any external vacancies posted on any of the six health authority websites. Many currently have postings for general duty staff nurses ranging from casual to fulltime positions and will still offer you the same supports that are available under the "new grad programs" any time of the year. I'm not sure what it is like in the rest of the country, but getting hired on as a casual in BC you are usually turning down shifts! Plus, once your in then you can apply for any internal postings that come up, which increases your options significantly.